Supernatural Circumstances
by OddPairings
Summary: A mysterious being is unleashed on the unsuspecting world, but who is this strange being? How did he come to be in this world? Who created him, but more importantly, what abilities does he possess? Will he alternate the course of destiny and bend the folds of reality?
1. Cybernetics

_**Cybernetics – Chapter 1**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or any of the characters that are owned by Nickelodeon, but I do maintain the rights to the plot of this story and the characters I create therein.**

**Author's Note: Alright, so to clear up any misconceptions, this story IS about Jimmy Neutron, but Chase plays a very significant role in the entire story, just consider this Chapter an introduction to who Chase is.**

**Just so it's clear, Italics signify that the dialogue is being thought and not said. I've also decided to use non-standard markings for dialogue just to make the story easier to read.**

**Remember to enjoy the story, and please, I appreciate feedback whether it be positive, negative and perhaps even constructive.**

Chase Johnson lived a wonderful life in Los Angeles, California; a life that couldn't possibly be any more perfect. He happened to be a fairly popular senior student at Los Angeles Senior High School.

For Chase, Stephanie was arguably the reason that he was so happy all of the time and the reason he did so incredibly well in school. Despite being in the popular group of people at school, he refused to associate too much with anyone who was stuck up and pretentious due to their social ranking on the so-called school popularity list.

Chase's friends were also an incredible group of people. They cared for him greatly, and he cared for them greatly as well; if there was a situation where they needed to back each other up, they did it without question, as they had made a pact when they were kids. John, one of his two best friends was considered his right hand man at school, helping him manage all of the club activities, particularly since Chase was the president of the extracurricular activity committee. His other best friend, Tony, was considered his left-hand man. Tony also helped him in managing the after school activities, seeing as he could balance the budgets of the schools various clubs with ease, as his major was in accounting.

The three sat in the vacant homeroom class, making posters and discussing the budgets for different clubs when Chase decided to break the monotonous conversation.

'So guys, summer break is right around the corner, you guys excited?!' Chase exclaimed.

'I suppose I'm pretty excited, how about you Tony?' John murmured indifferently, surprising Tony, since he knew that John was usually pretty outgoing.

'Hmm? Oh right, summer break is about 2 weeks away, we should probably go to the beach, and Chase could bring Stephanie, and I could bring Karla!' Tony said, a grin spreading across his face.

Karla was the girl Tony had crushed on since they were kids, they shared the same obsession with numbers and they always had good chemistry; for Tony, it was a match made in heaven.

It had taken Chase a bit longer to get together with Stephanie, but it was worth it for all the glorious and wonderful moments they had together. Chase didn't really know what he would do without her. If something ever happened to her, he would be furious, he would possibly fall into a state of manic depression, but Chase decided to dispel the thoughts from memory, since the odds of something like that happening were slim to none.

'So what about you John, aren't you going to bring a special lady to the beach with us? Maybe a special lady by the name of...Diana?' Chase teased, smirking all the while.

'Oh come on guys, I thought the teasing about me and Diana would have stopped by now.' John whined.

'You know we're just teasing you John, just ask her to come along, I mean the worst thing she can do is say no, right?' Chase reasoned with his friend.

John had a crush on a girl named Diana in his homeroom. Chase and Tony teased him because Diana was a bit younger than them and also because she was a junior in a senior class, which meant she was pretty smart. John enjoyed having her around, her personality was very warm, but secretly he was a bit shy when it came to asking girls anything, especially a girl as intelligent as Diana.

'But guys, she's a year younger than me, don't you think it would seem just a little bit creepy if I asked her to go anywhere with me?' John asked, trying to make his friends drop the subject.

Tony butted into the conversation. 'Oh please John, come back to reality, I'm pretty sure there are seniors in our homeroom who date freshmen, now something like that is pretty creepy, but what's a one year age gap? Just ask her tomorrow and it'll be fine, trust me.'

'Fine, but if she embarrasses me in homeroom, I'm going to be irritated with you Chase.' John said, pointing a finger at him half-threateningly.

'Oh come on John, you wouldn't hurt a fly,' Chase grinned, 'Much less one of your best friends.'

'You're right, but anyways, all of this talk about Diana is getting to my head, you guys want to go get some coffee?' John offered and added 'I'll even pay since you guys gave me the courage to try to ask Diana out.'

'Now we're talking, let's pack this stuff up and head out!' Both Tony and Chase exclaimed simultaneously. They both loved coffee.

The trio picked up all the loose papers and the posters that they were designing for the clubs, swept the floor and fed the classroom pet before putting their backpacks on and locking the classroom door behind them. They walked through the main corridor to head outside and Chase couldn't help but feel a slight tingling as if something was amiss in his otherwise perfect world. They all piled into Tony's car and started driving towards the nearest coffee shop which happened to be a couple of miles away. Chase looked at his watch and decided that it was fairly early still, four in the afternoon, but he realized that he still had to be home for dinner at nine. As they were driving, Tony decided to ask him something.

'Hey Chase, are we going to use your parent's car to get to the beach in a few weeks? I don't think this old rust bucket of mine can handle the trek!' Tony exclaimed jokingly, laughing at his own joke.

'Don't worry man, I'm almost one hundred percent sure that my folks will lend us the SUV, seeing as I have a perfect driving record unlike _someone _in this car.' Chase said, looking in the general direction of John.

'Hey man, to be fair, that tree totally popped out of nowhere, that's not my fault.' John justified, raising his arms in defeat.

'Sure, whatever you say man.' Tony snickered. 'Oh and by the way, we're here.' Tony added as he pulled into the parking lot expertly.

The trio of friends exited the car and headed indoors into the quite busy cafe. They were seated by a waiter and they ordered coffee and some sweets to go with it as well. They discussed which beach they would go to over the summer and other details about the trip.

'So how in the world are we going to get the money to pay for the hotel rooms or a cabin on the beach?' Tony inquired, nervously.

'Don't worry about a thing, I have a friend up near the beach that can do me a favor and get us free hotel rooms for the week, he owes me after I kept him from doing jail time.' Chase said confidently.

'You kept him from doing jail time? Damn man, that sounds like something you should probably tell us, go on and tell the story!' Tony exclaimed, encouraging his friend.

'It's really nothing too big man, just that he got caught fooling around with the manager's seventeen year old daughter and the manager just happened to owe me a favor, let's just say that in the kitchen, there were more than a few health code violations.' Chase said with disgust.

'Ugh, remind me not to eat there then!' John exclaimed in disgust, his face scrunching up.

'I second that notion!' Tony exclaimed, snickering at John's reaction.

'That's pretty cool man, so how are things going with Stephanie?' Tony asked, trying to ease a response out of Chase, he never did talk about his "Girl" in much detail.

'Personally, I think things between us couldn't be going any better, she's slowly warming up to the idea of being my girlfriend, and I'm insanely happy. Also while we're on the subject of girls, how are you and Karla doing?' Chase asked in rebuttal.

'Can't really complain about the progress I'm making with her, I'm hoping to ask her to the summer dance, I hope that she'll say yes, I can't bear to think that she might say no.' Tony stated, a frown starting to appear on his face.

' Oh and by the way, how are your grades guys? Remember, you need every grade to be above a B to even think about going to the summer dance.' Chase said, staring at Tony.

'Ah, damn it, I just remembered that I have a C in that stupid science class! I'll have to talk to the teacher next week about making up some work I suppose.' Tony murmured dejectedly.

Hours flew by as they made small talk and gossiped a little about the couples at school and talked a bit about the newest upcoming video games. As the hours went by, people began to leave the café in what seemed to be huge droves.

'So Tony, you thinking about which college you're going to after this year's over?' Chase pitched him the question, out of curiosity.

'To be honest with you, I have no idea where I'm going; I suppose I'll go to yours if it's an Ivy League College.' Tony responded with a shrug.

John butted into the conversation 'Do you guys want to get out of here? It's getting a bit late, and the café is starting to die down in terms of people.' All the talk of girlfriends and college was starting to make him a bit uncomfortable.

'Yeah, I suppose we can get out of here, just drop me off at home Tony.' Chase said, looking down at his watch, realizing he only had about an hour until dinner was ready.

As the trio was driving home, Chase thought that he had seen a mysterious figure exit the café right after them, but he chalked this up to nerves. Chase had never noticed this until recently, but looking out of the passenger seat window he noticed that most of the roads near his neighborhood were fixed and repaved, and the sidewalk had a portion designated for bikers and joggers. _What a nice addition by the City Council, _Chase thought absentmindedly.

Pretty soon Tony drove up to the front of his house, and Chase exited the vehicle and headed into the house. He then said 'I'll see you guys tomorrow, have a good one!"

Chase entered his home and was greeted by his parents and his little sister, Rose. His parents looked slightly irritated that he arrived at this time of night, but were happy that he was home nonetheless, so they decided not to bring it up. His sister Rose ran up to him and gave him a big, suffocating hug; she happened to really love her big brother.

'Hey Rose, how was school today?' Chase asked, patting and rubbing her head while smiling.

'It was really good, how about you Chase? Why were you late?' Rose asked innocently, with a big old smile.

'Oh that, well after the meetings I have after school, me and my friends went to go get some coffee.' Chase explained to her with a smile.

'Also, what's for dinner Mom? I'm pretty hungry after having nothing to eat since lunch.'

'For dinner you'll be having meatloaf and vegetables!' Joanne said excitedly, happy to have dinner with her family.

'Sounds delicious Mom, I'm glad you're such a good cook!' Chase said, smiling.

Chase went to go wash up upstairs, change into his shorts and sandals, they were more comfortable for when he was walking around the house, Chase reasoned. He went downstairs as soon as he heard his Mom and Dad call for him. The table was beautifully set, the food looked amazing and he dug into it, rapidly eating all of the food as if he had been starving for weeks.

'Son, I think you should slow down a bit before you begin eating the plate!' Jack said as he laughed heartily at his son.

'Sorry about that, guess I really had a huge appetite being worked up in my stomach.' Chase said apologetically.

Soon enough everyone was done eating their dinner and excused themselves to go to different areas of the house. Chase went upstairs to take a shower and then go to sleep. He showered, got dressed in his sleeping attire and then got into bed.

'Ah, my life could never go wrong.' Chase mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.

Oh how truly wrong one statement could be…

Overhead above his house, a military stealth aircraft was running surveillance on one particular Chase Johnson. This particular aircraft contained a couple of pilots, a fully fledged flight crew, combat ready military personnel and a General to oversee the operation, this General in particular was named Minor S. Jackson, one of the highest ranking U.S Military personnel. Chase had been tracked for multiple days, through the help of microscopic bugs that would track his every movement and every word he spoke.

This particular operation had to do with the Cybernetics Lab back at home base. The mission description said that the lab needed a new test subject. This operations objective was to acquire a test subject with highly specific characteristics, such as a strong connection to his family and loved ones, hidden internal anger and turmoil, high strength and intelligence and the ability to make good social interactions. General Jackson absentmindedly noticed that this particular aircraft was designed by James Isaac Neutron, judging from the faded atom logo on some of the equipment, this bothered him greatly since James Isaac Neutron was one of the lead designers of most modern military hardware, and some of the higher ups in the U.S military thought that he may pose a threat to them if he ever went… for a lack of a better word, rogue.

'Why did I have to get sent to another one of these operations, they always fail miserably back in the Cybernetics lab and then we have to find a new lab rat to test with.' Jackson growled, irritated at the situation.

'Well sir, even though I know nothing about the specific objective of the tests are, I suspect that it's fairly important if even after thirty failures, they're still sending us out here to find more test subjects. Jilly, one of the pilots noted.

'I do suppose you are right.' Jackson conceded.

_So if she's right, why do they need a cyborg so badly? Are they planning on starting that whole covert assassinations thing again? It can't possibly be that because that project was shut down years ago, most likely they need a Cyborg to take out a specific, very powerful target; otherwise, what was the point of having specifics like these for the test subject?_

Jackson looked over at the faded logo again and remembered that the U.S Government had always had an inherent fear of James Neutron, _but to what extent would they go keep him at bay_? Oh well, orders were orders Jackson reasoned as he began to bark orders through his headset.

"Assault Team ready?"

"Capture Crew ready?"

"Snipers in position?"

The response that Jackson received was a resounding 'Yes Sir!' from all three teams.

'Alright, go ahead and commence the acquisition of the package!'

The assault team lowered themselves from the hovering aircraft, sliding down the ropes in their black clad uniforms, they hit the ground and the moonlight made the M4 Assault Rifles Gleam. The nine men split into 3 man squads and secured the perimeter of the house, one group in the front, one in the back and the last group was covering the street from passerby. The snipers got into position on a wooded hill quite a distance away, so they could be aware of any possible witnesses to the operation. The snipers signaled back to the general that the capture team could commence acquisition.

'Alright, snatch the target and let's get out of here.' Jackson said to the Capture Crew radio channel.

The capture team lowered themselves onto the ground and used hooks to hold themselves to the siding of the house, they came in through the second floor window and saw Chase sleeping, perfect.

'Steady now, grab him by the legs and I'll restrain his arms.' One of the men whispered.

Chase woke up to two strange men attempting to what he assume was kidnap him, so as a natural response he tried to yell for help, but as soon as the men realized he was awake, Chase was met with a swift blow to the head.

His vision started fading to black as he quietly made out two words… 'Help me' and then unconsciousness kicked in and he passed out.

**Author's Note: Oh man, what a chapter! Just so you guys know, Chase and his friends are supposed to be the opposite of what Jimmy Neutron and his band of friends are, a role reversal of sorts if you will.**


	2. Day In The Life

_**Day In The Life – Chapter 2**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or any of the characters that are owned by Nickelodeon, but I do maintain the rights to the plot of this story and the characters I create therein.**

The sun began to shine through the window to unveil yet another morning in Retroville.

Jimmy mumbled incoherently for a short while as consciousness took a hold on him. Suddenly sitting up in bed, he noticed that his faithful dog Goddard was still asleep on the floor next to his bed which brought a smile to his face. He sighed in mere bliss because it was so liberating to live on your own, there was no more getting woken up by your mother's yelling, just you and nobody else.

'Morning Goddard, how's my favorite dog?' Jimmy said, rubbing his head.

'Bark, Bark' Goddard responded.

'Hmm, I think I'm going to do some work in the lab today, it's beginning to be a burden, you don't mind do you boy?'

Another part of the reason that he moved away is that he needed a bigger lab for his contracting work, so it was only fair that he stopped taking up his parent's space and moved his lab elsewhere.

This lab was no dinky cave anymore; it was a fully fledged lab with all the latest scientific equipment. It truly was fantastic what some funding from private companies could do for you. Contracting work paid pretty well, but most of the time you never got to touch the money because it all went towards your expenses and laboratory, but the pay was stupendous for the little amount of work he had to do. Mostly Jimmy just had to do consulting which meant he just had to oversee and give advice on a project, which was fairly simple.

Jimmy had some qualms about doing contracting work for the military, but they were his biggest provider of work, so he was coaxed into doing it. He much preferred doing work for aerospace companies or even weapons manufacturers but the military had this aura about it, seemingly normal on the outside, but a jumble of secrets internally. Jimmy couldn't help but think that they were hiding something from him, with all the urgent contracting work they needed recently.

'_Am I over-thinking this? Surely the government has a handle on what the military does, right?' _

'_The government having a handle on anything, that's a good joke.' _

With a new house of course, came the flexibility to install VOX's personality interface into the entire house without disturbing anyone. Almost every room in the house had some sort of automation thanks to the system, which could be accessed through voice commands flawlessly.

'Good morning VOX, how are you on this fine morning?' Jimmy asked as he stepped into the shower.

'Just fine Master Neutron, do you need anything?' VOX responded. 'A new hairstyle perhaps?'

'Just give me the usual Whippy Dip hairstyle, if you don't mind VOX.' Jimmy said with a smile, he had never really outgrown his hairstyle.

'Yes Master Neutron, once you finish showering please don't hesitate to call me back, also before I go would you like me to begin preparing breakfast downstairs?' VOX asked, awaiting a response.

'I suppose that a Cuban sandwich and a cup of black coffee will be fine, thanks for the assistance VOX.'

Jimmy finished his shower and proceeded to dress himself in whatever attire he pleased. He picked one of his many signature red polo shirts and a pair of slightly faded jeans. After picking out some nice socks and shoes to go along with the shirt and pants, he went back into his bathroom, to style his hair.

'VOX, if you don't mind, I'm ready for my hair to be styled now.'

VOX's virtual appearance was displayed on the mirror, as a machine descended from the ceiling, ready to style his hair. The process took no longer than a few minutes, and he came out looking considerably more handsome and sharp.

'Thanks VOX, is breakfast ready yet?'

'It would be, but I'm currently running diagnostics on the kitchen, as it's currently damaged.' VOX said apologetically.

'Don't worry about it VOX, I'll just head down to the lab for a bit, when it's back up and running, just let me know.'

'Thank you Master Neutron, I hope it'll be fixed shortly.'

James headed downstairs and began walking into the corridor that led to his laboratory. The huge metal door looked out of place in the elegant home, but it was there as a safety precaution, so it was understandable. He ran his hand over the biometric scanner to allow him entrance to the lab. The various locking mechanisms on the door suddenly gave way.

'Access Granted, welcome to your laboratory James Isaac Neutron.'

James stepped into the lab, marveling in all of the recent improvements, perhaps it wasn't quite as homely as it was when he lived with his parents, but he improved it considerably. One of his most recent improvements was an implant embedded in his arm that allowed him to communicate with the lab machines and VOX's interface, without having to speak or manually input commands, something that allowed him to work without the chance of distraction or putting himself in danger.

Walking down the main corridor of the lab, you could see the weapons testing room containing a weapons rack which held prototype weapons which he was manufacturing for several private weapons companies. They were mostly handguns for self defense purposes. Jimmy felt good knowing that the weapons he created defended people and their homes from burglars and the like. He casually walked into the room and picked up one of the handguns to test-fire it, picking up a set of ear plugs as well.

'VOX, do you mind bringing up target dummy B-43?' Jimmy queried.

'Right away Master, it's currently on route from storage, will that be all?' VOX verified.

'Yes, that'll be all for now VOX.'

The target dummy came up and it was a bit comical really, it was painted to seem like one of those cat burglars you would see in the morning cartoons. Jimmy took aim at the dummy in the proper stance and began firing.

The 9mm pistol shook as three shots exited the barrel, speeding towards the target. The bullets except for one hit the mark, one hitting the lungs and the other one hitting the chest.

'I suppose that year of designing and testing guns improved my aim.'

'Quite so Master Neutron, what is this particular project about?'

'Well, it has to do with the safety on the gun, seeing as guns are pretty dangerous to children if left in reach, the gun will only fire if it detects the registered owner put his fingers on the biometric scanner embedded to the trigger.

'It also prevents anyone stealing the gun, and people committing crimes with said gun, because every round fired leaves a unique identifier that is traced back to the gun and then to back to said owner of the gun.'

'That is quite an ingenious design Master Neutron, when is it scheduled for release to the public?'

'They hope to begin manufacturing them late next year, but one can hope that they adopt it as the standard, since it would really help lower crime rates.'

Jimmy put the gun and the ear plugs back on the rack and exited the room, marking the project as completed in the process. The implant turned out to be quite handy to compensate for his mediocre organizational skills.

Jimmy didn't really enjoy weapon and armaments projects, but he took them on because he needed the money to develop his lab, among other expenses.

Continuing to walk down the lab, he decided to take a small detour into the vehicle testing room; this was one of his favorites because he got to test all the latest ground, air and hybrid vehicles. Jimmy grabbed a set of keys off the wall, and unlocked a sports car that hadn't been released to the general public, with a few of his improvements of course. Primarily, he added an automatic braking system and it was interfaced with VOX, so the car could be driven autonomously, by voice commands or just manually if you pleased.

Jimmy started the engine on the vehicle and gasped at the intensity of which it roared to life. He then expertly put the vehicle into drive and started moving towards the track. The track went straight for about ten miles and was about two miles wide.

'Hey VOX, how fast do you think this vehicle can go?' Jimmy asked, a bit nervously

'From the manufacturer's specifications, it can go at a top speed of 180 miles per hour.'

Jimmy gulped 'Well then, let's just hope this doesn't kill me, huh VOX?' as he floored the accelerator. Jimmy went through the entire track at top speeds, expertly turning near the end. After finishing, he exited the vehicle and put it the keys back in the proper place.

'Wow that was incredibly liberating, yet life threatening all the while.'

'I don't think anything would've happened Master, I could've override the manual controls.'

'Hey VOX, what are the odds that the company would let me take the sports car out for a street test?'

'I'm not sure if they would, but I could send a formal request if you'd like?'

'Sure, and VOX one more thing, do I have any pending projects from the U.S Department of Defense?'

'Checking now… From what I can see in my records, a new project arrived today, would you like to hear the description?'

'Yes please, also, are there any attached messages?'

'There are attached messages; would you like me to play those as well?'

Jimmy merely nodded and the virtual reality interface came to life.

'Hello Jimmy Neutron, this is Carter from the U.S Department of Defense. Before playing this message I would like to remind you that you are under a nondisclosure agreement with any projects you undertake from the U.S Military or the Department Of Defense, this project should be worked on exclusively in the private lab section that we have so generously provided to you.'

'Also enclosed in the laboratory we have left a sample what seems to be a new element, we are counting on you to discover what properties it possesses. From the little our researchers could gather this material is capable of carrying energy without any loss in the transfer. It is also capable of manipulating matter, which was discovered accidentally when a speck of the material fell into an empty jar, causing it to be absorbed by the jar and subsequently making the jar change in shape slightly.

'Currently, this is the only information we have on the material and we would like you to assist us in this matter and upon finishing this, we shall transfer the final payment to a bank account of your choice. We have also sent an initial payment for any expenses you may take on during this project.

The message ended and Jimmy Neutron was taken aback by the project description, it seemed like the material was revolutionary, capable of disproving many a scientific theory. He didn't much like taking on projects from the DOD, but since it interested him as a scientist, he took it on anyways. The bit about the initial payment sounded like a lie at first, since the DOD never sent a payment first.

'VOX, would you please check all of my bank accounts for recent transactions by the Department Of Defense?

'Hold on one moment... Most recent transaction by the Department Of Defense for the amount of two hundred thousand dollars, deposited in your personal checking account.'

'Did you just say 200,000$? Why would they give me this much money? I doubt I'll even take ten thousand dollars worth of expenses, much less two hundred thousand dollars worth of them!'

'Perhaps the DOD is trying to... how you humans say, butter you up?'

'Be that as it may, I'm still not working on this project today; I have more important things to do.'

Jimmy exited the lab, running his hand on the biometric scanner to lock the door.

'VOX, is the kitchen repaired yet?' Jimmy asked, curious.

'Yes Master Neutron, would you like me to prepare your breakfast order?'

'That would be much appreciated, now excuse me while I make a quick phone call.'

Jimmy flipped his phone open, dialing 1 to reach Sheen and Carl on speed dial. His friends quickly responded to his call. Carl and Sheen were still the best friends of Jimmy Neutron and he enjoyed having them around because of their unique personalities. They had all made a pact when they were kids, that they would remain together and back other up, until the end of time.

'Hey Jimmy, how's it going!' Sheen shouted so loudly that Jimmy's eardrum almost bled.

Pulling the phone away from his ear, Jimmy responded with 'Jeez Sheen, it's a cell phone, not a mega-phone, stop shouting so loud! Also, hey Carl, how's it going?'

'Pretty good, the llama pet I ordered from the internet is coming tomorrow!' Carl said excitedly. 'Also, what did you need us for Jim?'

'I wanted to see if you guys would be up for heading to the Candy Bar, my treat, since I have something to celebrate.' Jimmy said, wanting to get away from lab-work for a while.

'I don't see why not Jim, do you mind picking us up again though? Some idiot decided it would be a wonderful idea to crash his car into a fire hydrant so now his car is totaled and his license is also suspended.' Carl said, obviously angry at the sudden lack of transportation.

'What kind of idiot would total their car?' Sheen said, not realizing that Carl was talking about him. 'Heyyyyyyy, you take that back Carl! Before I come over there and make you!'

'I'll stop by to pick you guys up in an hour; did you guys need anything else before I go?' Jimmy asked, preparing to hang up the phone.

'Um... Can we pick up Libby? Pleaseeeeee Jimmy?' Sheen pleaded, nearly to the point where he was groveling.

'Oh come on, but if we pick up Libby, we have to also pick up the she-witch that accompanies her.' Jimmy groaned in irritation.

'Who would that be?' Sheen asked, confused.

'Sheen, you seriously can be so clueless at times, I obviously meant Cindy Vortex!' Jimmy growled, irritated with his friend.

Jimmy remembered the sports car and the money that he had just obtained; he could probably rub that in Vortex's face, perhaps making her jealous in the process.

'Actually, I don't mind stopping to pick up Libby; I have something to show Vortex.'

'What do you mean Jim?' Carl asked.

'Oh don't you worry Carl, you'll see when we get to the Candy Bar, and I'll be there to pick you guys up in about 30 minutes. Jimmy said, hanging up the cell phone.

Jimmy went downstairs to eat so he could go out with his best friends for a bit. The sandwich and coffee were made to perfection; VOX really did a great job with just about everything he assigned her to.

'Hey VOX, did the request for the vehicle go through yet?'

'The response from the company was that you could take it out for a test, under the condition that if you wreck it, you don't get paid for said project.'

'I think I can deal with that VOX, do you mind bringing the car up to the garage? I'm going out with Carl and Sheen.'

'No problem Master Neutron, I'll see you later.'

Jimmy went to the garage and got into the car, turning it on and hearing the engine roar was a wonderful refreshment to the senses, he sped out of the garage and onto the street, heading to Sheen's house. He knocked on Sheen's door and both he and Carl raced to open the door.

'Hey Jim, what's with the fancy car?' Carl asked, confused.

'Yeah, did you win the lottery or something?' Sheen added.

'Nah, it's just a perk of my new job, don't worry about it.' Jimmy assured them.

'Alright, let's go to the Candy Bar then, I haven't had ice cream in forever!' Sheen exclaimed, twitching slightly.

'Don't we have to pick up your girlfriend Sheen? Jimmy asked.

'For the last time, she's not my girlfriend!' Sheen hissed at the accusation.

'Alright fine, let's just get in the car and be on our way guys, there's no need to argue.' Carl said, trying to defuse the situation.

The trio of friends got into the car and headed to Libby's house, to pick her and Cindy up. After what seemed like an eternity of driving, Jimmy finally reached Libby's house. He strolled up to the front door and knocked. Jimmy heard someone call from inside, possibly Libby or Cindy, the door opened and Cindy stood there looking at him, puzzled.

'So Neutron, are you just going to stand there looking like an idiot or are you going to tell me why you're here?' Cindy said, tapping the floor with her feet.

'Well, if you would so kindly give me a moment to explain, I was going to ask you and Libby if you wanted to come along to the Candy Bar, my treat.' Jimmy offered.

'Your treat? Is this some sort of prank, who put you up to this?' Cindy asked, unconvinced of his sudden generosity.

'It's not a prank Vortex, Sheen just wanted Libby to come along, and no one said I had to bring you along if you're going to be so rude.' Jimmy said bluntly, about to blow a fuse in irritation.

'Don't put up that façade with me Nerdtron, as you very well know I'm your intellectual equal you'd have no challenge in school without me being around, so cut it out.' Cindy said, crossing her arms.

The exchanges between a Neutron and a Vortex, particularly these two always started off relatively tame then devolved into petty insults and snide remarks about each other. Neither of them could resist the chance to get the final word in, so the conversations seemed infinite to any passerby.

'Who said I even enjoyed having you around? And another thing, why are you suddenly being so skeptic about my offer?'

'I don't need to hear you say it to know that you enjoy our banter Neutron, I can read people like the back of my hand.'

'I suppose if you're an intern at a law office, you would learn to read people easily.' Jimmy said snidely.

'I'll have you know that I enjoy being an intern, experiences mean everything for a job resume.'

'Sure Vortex, next you'll have me believe that you enjoy working five hours a day for zero pay.'

'Well I do happen to enjoy it, and I don't think that you have any say on the matter since last time I checked, we were enemies.'

'Oh shut up Vortex, you know you can't hate your intellectual equal.' Jimmy said, mimicking Cindy.

'You can be such a child at times Neutron.' Cindy said with a huff.

Cindy had really changed over the years, not in the sense that they were friends or anything, she had just become distant from everyone, not caring what people said behind her back. She had always been one to step up to a challenge, to try to best everyone in a field, but Jimmy had noticed that she had lost her drive, her raison d'etre in a way. Cindy Vortex was just a chest full of secrets, but nobody took the effort to find the key and unlock what was beneath a veil of shadows.

Cindy went inside to get Libby, and then came back out to meet Neutron and the guys at the car.

'This car isn't yours is it Neutron?' Cindy asked, unconvinced.

'One of the perks of doing contracting work Vortex is that I get more benefits then say, an intern.' Jimmy said with a smug smirk dotting his facial features.

'Yeah whatever Nerdtron, you can laugh it up now but when I finish college, ill be the one getting all the fancy perks.'

'About that... actually, I'll show you when we get to the Candy Bar.'

After a bit of driving, the gang all arrived to the Candy Bar. They all piled inside and sat at one of the corner tables, ordered some ice cream and waited for the order to arrive. The Candy Bar had not changed a bit since they were kids, the same color scheme and the same owner to be exact. The clientele did change as people began to move out of Retroville, but that was inevitable.

'So guys, since summer vacation is coming around the corner, perhaps you guys want to head to a condo on the beach and stay for a week or two?'

'Please Neutron, where are you going to get the money to rent a condo?'

Jimmy brought up the online banking site on his phone and slid it to Vortex from across the table.

'What is this supposed to be Neutron?' Cindy said as she pulled the phone up to her face.

Cindy looked at the display and almost dropped the phone in shock.

'You can't be serious Neutron? This website isn't real, right?' Cindy said in utter disbelief.

'No Vortex, I actually do have money in my bank account, I suppose it's just another benefit of actually having a job.' Jimmy explained. 'Now can I please have my phone back?'

The time passed by as the group of friends made small talk about all the happenings at school and in the town itself. Carl and Sheen were deeply entranced in a conversation about the newest war videogame, so Jimmy decided that it was a good time as any to ask Vortex about school.

'So Vortex, how are your grades this year?'

'Why would you care Neutron?' Cindy retorted.

'Last time I checked, I'm pretty sure that grades determine what kind of college you go to.' Jimmy pointed out.

'Well you know what Neutron, maybe I don't feel like sharing my grades with the one kid who has perfect grades.' Cindy growled.

'It's not my fault that school is easy to me Vortex, I'm just trying to help.' Jimmy said, raising his arms in defeat.

'Oh really Neutron, you of all people wanting to help me? Did you take acting classes last year or something; I almost believed you for a split second.' Cindy said with a laugh.

'Vortex you can be sarcastic towards me all you want but if you keep shutting people out like this, soon you won't have anyone that cares about you.'

'Neutron, who are you to tell me what I need in my life? For your information I already have friends and family who care about me, I don't need your advice or pity.' Cindy stated aggressively.

'Fine Vortex, but someday you'll realize that my advice is the inevitable truth.' Jimmy said as he went back to conversing with his best friends.

**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter.**


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